By The Shore
by unscenced
Summary: Clary and Izzy have rented out a cottage every summer for the past two years. This year, One of he new neighbours, Clary has a past with. As they reconnect with eachother they uncover lifechanging secrets from their past. Adopted from Be The Crayon.
1. Of Nephews And Best Friends

_**Hey so I'm going to take over this story as Be The Crayon is unfortunately leaving FanFiction and I couldn't bear to let this story o unfinished. The first four chapters are completely the property and work of Be The Crayon and I will be continuing from there with my own work. If I start using slightly different words to Be The Crayon I'm sorry but I am British so if there is a word you don't really know just give me a buzz. Also could someone please tell me how old you are in each grade because I have no idea and it could prove useful to know how old Clary and Jace are at different points in the flashback, like I said, I'm British, sue me. Anyhow, enjoy, R&R and I hope you find my continuation as interesting as you found Be The Crayon's part.**_

_**Unscenced**_

**By The Shore **

**Summary: Clary and Izzy have rented out a cottage every summer for the past two years. This year, they meet some new neighbours, one of whom Clary has a past with. As they reconnect with each other in the beautiful surroundings of Miami, they uncover life changing secrets from their past. But will these secrets bring them closer, or tear them apart... forever. **

Chapter One: Stranded

"_Love is like the ocean waves, it either has it high or low times and when it's high, it just drowns you all together."_

**Clary POV **

It's funny. People seem to have these notions about the ocean, these thoughts or beliefs that all seem to relate. They say that the ocean is a magical place, that it provides wisdom and advice to whoever visits.

I can see how one may think this. Its glassy silver-blue waves hypnotise the visitor, distracting them from what lies beneath the surface. In fact, the moment that I stepped onto its hot sandy shore, I felt like I was a person stranded that had finally come home.

But the ocean hides things. Deep below its surface lie secrets that aren't meant to be discovered, secrets that are meant to hide from the world. Every once in a while, somebody stumbles across these long forgotten secrets, and they discover things about their past that could change their lives.

Forever.

I breathed deeply as I set foot on the gravel, my legs wobbly from long hours spent in the car. The air here smelled all salty and fresh, a far cry the chemical scent of New York.

Shutting the door silently, I made my way over to the trunk of my car, preparing to bear the heavy load of the bags that I knew were just waiting to be unpacked.

Just as I had popped the trunk, Izzy came round the corner, squealing in delight when she saw me.

"Clary!" She shouted, the force of her hug making me stumble backwards, "I'm so glad that you're finally here!" Around two years ago, Izzy and I's mom had decided to rent a cottage out for the summer. Eventually, they got tired of going and let us come up by ourselves. Ever since that one year, we had all but forced them to rent out the cottage for the following summers.

We usually only stayed for a couple of weeks, but since it was our last summer before university, we decided to stay there for the whole entire summer.

"My plane was late getting off the tarmac, and the traffic on the way up was absolutely horrible. Who knew that such a small town could be so crowded?" I replied, explaining my late arrival.

"Never mind how long the journey took, just be glad you're finally here." Izzy said, taking two of the four suitcases that I had brought. Grabbing the rest, I closed the trunk and hurried after her, wanting to get settled in as soon as possible.

The cottage itself was like something out of a fairy tale. It was small and delicate, white painted wood nestled in a patch of flowers of with a wide range of hues, varying from pale pink to an electric orange , with birds and bees buzzing everywhere. There was a stone path that lead to a set of long winding stairs that would eventually lead you down to the ocean.

What was great about this cottage though, was the fact that this section of the ocean was privately owned, so only the members of the neighbouring cottages were allowed down. It must have cost a hell of a lot of money on our parent's part, but it was my guess that they were quite happy with their investment.

I waited with wide eyes as Izzy pushed the door open with a creak and stepped inside, me right on her tail.

It was so exciting to be able to finally see the cottage again, and I surveyed the room contentedly as we passed the wide and airy living room, complete with a large window wall with gauzy white curtains looking out onto the bright blue ocean. I had painted that picture far too many times.

Peeking into the tiny kitchen, I saw that utensils were strewn everywhere, and an ominous burnt black blob was currently being used as a centrepiece. Having known Izzy for a better part of my life, I knew that it was probably one of her attempts at a "meal".

Not wanting to let Izzy get too far ahead, I dashed up three wooden steps that led you to a narrow hallway with four doors. Behind each door was a bedroom with a bathroom attached, two a bit larger than the others.

Izzy took one of the bigger bedrooms, but I had decided on the smaller one a while ago. The wide bay window allowed a view of the ocean, and when the sun set at night, it made a picturesque scene that was perfect for drawing.

Seeing that the door to my room was already open, I walked in to see Izzy collapsed on my bed, suitcases strewn haphazardly around the room. I threw mine down and collapsed right next to her, feeling like an actor from a movie about the values of friendship by the way we were positioned. Even if the said actors were huffing and puffing so much that it seemed as though we should have been smoke addicts blowing smoke rings into the sky.

"I really need to start exercising if I'm getting worn out by a couple of suitcases." Izzy commented, her breathing laboured and harsh.

I agreed with a shake of my head, promising myself that I would go swimming every day while here.

A few moments passed before I asked Izzy the question that had been on my mind for a while.

"So, are we going to go visit Mrs. Willard and her husband before I start to unpack?"

We had first met the Willard's down at the beach our first summer. They had been extremely friendly, and we had bonded immediately. They were both old, but were very active physically. Not in a sexual way of course, they were old enough to be my _grandparents_, but in the sort of sports aspect. You would often find them doing laps in the ocean, and heading out for their daily jog at around six every morning.

Overall, I was looking very forward to be seeing them again.

"Actually, the Willard's aren't there anymore. I went to go say hi before you came, but this blonde guy and his two friends answered the door instead. He said something about being their nephew." She said, not sounding upset at all.

**I, **on the other hand, couldn't believe it. Mr and Mrs. Willard weren't there anymore? I felt a flash of sadness for my old friends, but my mood lightened considerably when a certain thought struck me.

"How old are they?" I asked, trying to sound casual but failing like a total nerd. I had never been known for my acting skills.

Izzy smirked knowingly at me before answering my question.

"They're about one year older than us, and they're all totally hot!" She gushed, excitement immediately seeping into her voice. "There's this one, and he has dark straight hair and glasses, and he must be the hottest guy that I've ever seen!" She nearly screamed, sitting up on the bed and bouncing excitedly.

"Well," I started, sitting up as well, "seeing as we're their new neighbours and all, it would only be appropriate if _I_ got to greet them properly." I said, grinning mischievously.

"Of course, and it wouldn't be at all strange if I came in my bikini, seeing as it is a beach and all." Izzy responded, a glint of mischief in her eyes. We both laughed at our devious minds, and Izzy flounced off to her room to find a, no doubt, extremely scanty bikini that would make any sensible boy go crazy.

_Poor guy, _I thought bemusedly, _he doesn't stand a chance against Izzy and wrath._

With those thoughts propelling me into action, I set off to find my own clothes, wanting to make a good first impression on these boys.

I ended up deciding on a pair of short blue boy shorts, and a white tank top that hugged my body nicely. I slipped on a pair of lime green flip flops, and headed to the porch swing while I waited for Izzy.

Plopping down on it, I realized how lucky I was to actually be here, and not in some run down MC Donald's taking peoples orders for a way to earn money for college. No, I was all set with a fully paid scholarship to my dream University, one that specialized in the arts. I knew that my artistic skills would soar to new heights under the watchful gazes of the highly trained Professors. And to top it off, I got to spend my summer where the air smelled of lilac and salt, and the warm breeze blew my hair in such a way that it almost felt comforting, all when I stared out over the ocean.

It was around midday, so the sun was shining bright and hot against the pale blue sky. I sat like that for a little while before Izzy came out, dressed in jean shorts and a silvery bikini top.

I laughed at her determined expression, and we started along the dirt path that led to our neighbour's cottage.

Their cottage was very similar to ours, the only difference being that it was a pale green colour, and that they had a palm tree beside their house, a few brown coconuts nestled up high in the tree's boughs.

We marched confidently up to the door, and waited patiently as Izzy knocked on the door.

The guy who answered had ice blue eyes and dark straight hair, but he had no glasses, so I knew immediately that this wasn't the guy that Izzy liked.

He leaned against the door frame casually and blew a strand of hair out of his face, looking bored.

"You again." He said quietly, staring at Izzy. "And you brought a friend this time." His eyes raked over me and I blushed, looking off into the distance.

"We just wanted a chance to formally introduce ourselves. The last time we met it was really awkward." He said nothing, but you could tell that we had his attention, so Izzy started to speak again.

"Okay, well, I'm Isabelle, and this is my friend, Clary." I waved and smiled at him, receiving a small smile in return.

He looked like he was about to say something, but was interrupted by a loud voice echoing through the cottage.

"Alec, who's at the door!" Someone shouted, his voice eventually getting louder as he approached.

When he arrived, I saw that his friend was at his side, his dark hair and glasses partially covering the blonde boy's face.

"They're our neighbours. They just came here so they could properly introduce themselves." The boy said, looking at the blonde with an emotion that I couldn't place. I decided to forget about it, and waited to be introduced.

"Jace, Simon, this is Isabelle," he said, gesturing over at Isabelle, "and that red head over there is Clary." My jaw dropped a little at the name Jace, but I quickly dismissed the thought. It couldn't be the Jace I was thinking about, I hadn't seen him for _years._

But when the dark haired boy moved out of the way, absolute astonishment graced my features as I realized who I was staring at. He still had those same tawny eyes, that same sarcastic smirk, and that same golden hair that curled against his ears.

"Clary?" he asked in disbelief, the smirk vanishing when he got a closer look at me. "Is that really you?" He asked, peering closer at me.

"The one and only." I smiled, wrapping my arms around his body in a bold gesture, surprising even myself. I pulled back a little to stare into his eyes. "Long time no see."

**A/N So, love it, hate it? I got this idea from a dream. And I have a very basic outline of where it might go. Don't be afraid to tell me how you feel, but just don't flame. It really serves no purpose. **

**Just a little note about Back to New York; I don't think that I'm going to be updating as often. The lack of reviews is kind of discouraging, so I'm starting to lose interest. I'll still finish the story, but updates are gonna come slower unless I start getting more requests. **

**LOVE YOU ALL! **

**xoxoxo Be the Crayon **


	2. Homefries And Cinnamon

**By the Shore **

A/N: Oh my goodness, you guys are the best. I was overwhelmed with the response that this got so… thank you. I love you all!

**Chapter Two: Panic **

Clary POV

It was one of _those_ moments. One of those moments where the world seemed to freeze, and the only thing that you could actually **see **was the person in front of you. They were the only person that you could even hope to concentrate on because your brain was already muddled and fogged with feelings and thoughts.

I tried to act collected and calm, but I really didn't know how well I was doing. My vision seemed to fade every so often, darkness creeping up on me like fog, but never threatening to overpower me. It was just a lingering presence, but I knew that if I didn't keep myself under control, I would be swallowed by it.

In reality, my gaze into Jace's eyes lasted only a couple of seconds, but it could have been an eternity for all that I knew. The only thing that kept me grounded were Jace's arms around me, his grip strong and safe.

I could have stayed in his arms all day, but although it was him that was grounding me, it was also him that made me feel lighter than air. How cheesy.

However, detangling myself from him proved to be a very difficult task. My brain knew what it wanted to do, but my body didn't seem to be listening. My arms were still wrapped around him in a death grip, my gaze feebly trying to convey my feelings, but he seemed to be oblivious to my inner struggle.

_Move. _I told my body furiously. If Jace was too dim to see my problem then I would just have to solve it by myself. Surprisingly, my muscles relented, allowing me to move away from him.

Izzy flashed me a questioning gaze, probably wondering what my relation to the boy was. I shook her off with a wave off my hand, mouthing the word, _later_, to her. She nodded, and then turned back to her conversation with the boys.

I made sure that the distance between us was quite large, not trusting my stupid hormonal teenage emotions. Instead, I situated myself between Izzy and the dark haired boy named Alec.

The rest of the time we spent with them was blurred, my foggy brain only hearing snippets of the conversation. What I did hear though, was that we would be meeting up tomorrow at seven to have dinner at a fancy place called The Shipwreck, something about getting to know each other better.

When they moved on to the topic of girlfriends though, I just about lost my last shred of sanity. Izzy had started the conversation, most likely to find out whether Simon was single or not.

When Alec was asked, he just blushed furiously and ducked his head, mumbling a short little _no. _Izzy asked Simon next, flashing an absolutely radiant smile when Simon pronounced he was, in fact, single.

And then there was Jace. I was dreading his answer; half-hoping that Izzy would forget about him now that she had her answer. The other part of me though, was hoping that Izzy wouldn't forget, so I would be able to find out Jace's attainability.

_Stop that, _I told myself, _he is your __**friend**__, he has been for years. _

But Izzy, of course, did not forget about Jace. So when she boldly asked him his status, I found myself waiting with baited breath when he answered. Fervently hoping that the answer would be no.

No such luck in that department though, because Jace announced that, and I quote, "unlike these two dorks, I have a girlfriend. Actually Clary, you know her quite well." He said turning to me. I, of course, had turned away from him, not wanting him to see the hurt that was surely lingering in my eyes.

"Actually, she was one of your best friends in the third grade. Do you remember Kaelie?" My jaw dropped as he announced the familiar name, disbelief spreading through my body.

Kaelie had been my best friend ever since the third grade when she offered to let me borrow her extra shirt. I had spilled a whole jar of purple paint on my own, and had been completely devastated. Ever since that fateful day, we had been inseparable… until she had moved away to some preppy all girls' school in the seventh grade.

I had been really sad, throwing her a party and everything. What had worried me the most though, was the fact that I didn't have any friends. I mean sure, I had _friends, _but no best friends.

That was when Izzy had made her appearance, and she had filled the hole that Kaelie had left behind, allowing me to forget about her.

But now that the name was back in the open, I felt like strangling something.

Izzy caught my expression and mumbled something to the guys about me being tired from jet lag. They all nodded understandingly, waving as Izzy and I walked the dirt path back to our own cottage.

Izzy stopped me at the porch, and I prepared myself for the questions that she was surely going to bombard me with.

She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off.

"Look, Izzy. I understand that you're curious, and confused. But I really don't feel like talking about it right now. My relationship with him is, well, it's really weird, and kinda complicated."

She looked at me pointedly.

"Yeah, I know it sounds really cliché, but just give it time, okay?" I told her, hoping sincerely that she would understand.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not going to push you for information… yet." I groaned at the thought.

"But," she continued, "I know something that we can do that can get your mind off of things… and him." She added as an after thought.

"Like what?" I said timidly. Izzy's ideas could tend to be a little different. You had to be careful to what you agreed to when you were with her.

"I'll show you!" She announced, grabbing my hand while bouncing to the front door.

Crap.

0 0 0

"Do we have any potatoes?" I giggled, sounding slightly drunk.

I guess I was, in a sense. Izzy had loaded us up on diet coke and cinnamon toast crunch, my two favourite things in the world.

"I don't know, why?"

"I want to make home fries!" I announced happily, my thoughts hazy and slow.

"We might have some in the garage!" Izzy giggled, stumbling to the door.

"Wait!" I stopped her. "We don't have garage." Even in my drunken state, I was happy that I was able to at least put some coherent thoughts together.

"Oh yeah…" She stopped for a moment, thinking, looking at me in the process. For a few seconds we said nothing, the air heavy and still, until it was filled with the bell like sound of our laughter. "We could check the cabinets!" Iz said when we had calmed down enough to speak.

I agreed, thinking that idea was absolutely _fantastic_, and we set to work on the quest for the potatoes, the name I had secretly given it in my head.

We searched the cabinets in vain, looking for the potatoes that would certainly bring me some level of happiness.

After five minutes of searching though, with no luck, we both collapsed on the couch, slowly unwinding from our sugar rush.

"This is a crap fest." Izzy sighed, dropping her head into her hands.

"Yeah, I know. Please remind me to never listen to you again when you have an idea. I absolutely hate when I have have no filter, it's why I hate being drunk. You have no control over what you say. Like before, because I seriously don't know when I became so intent on making home fries." I retorted, completely embarrassed for the things that I had said.

Izzy laughed. "Yeah well, your thoughts aren't really filtered when you have caffeine and and the delicious taste of cinnamon controlling them." I laughed along with her, agreeing one hundred percent.

"Anyways," Izzy sighed, "I'm tired. I'm going to go head to bed. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I wanted to go into town for a bit before we have to head over to have dinner with the guys. Is that alright?" She asked, looking hopeful.

"Of course." I said, knowing that the quaint little town of Idris was always an amazing place to go. Little boutiques and shops lined the streets, making it extremely adorable and perfect. "Have a good night!" I called out, watching as she trudged into the hallway and turned into her room, shutting the door behind her.

I, on the other hand, was too lazy to get up. Instead, I pulled out the large afghan and snuggled up with it into the couch.

I waited patiently for sleep to come, knowing of the dreams that would surely plague me that night.

As always, I was not disappointed.

**A/N I saw Eclipse this weekend! Totally loved it. TEAM EDWARD ALL THE WAY BABY! I don't understand how people can think he's ugly. He's very obviously not, or he wouldn't have been picked for that role. Besides, Jacob's too self centered for my liking. Though that line, the "I'm hotter than you" one? That totally got me. I was laughing like a total idiot. I also had to explain to my mom about how Edward was not a creep. She didn't like the whole Bella vampire thing and her getting married. Ahhh well, you win some you lose some. **

**Have a good week! **

**xoxoxo Be the Crayon**

P.S, if things seem a little complicated, just wait. All will be explained soon, grasshoppers. Oh, and thanks for the nephew comment. I never caught that. Oh, and hey. Does somebody want to explain to me the whole beta thing? I kinda want one and don't really know how to do anything about it. Help please!


	3. That's Mr Boogie Monster To You

By The Shore

**Chapter Three: Hunger **

A/N: As always, I am still overwhelmed with the response that this got. You guys are seriously amazing! Love You All! For all of you who guessed that the last chapter was transitional or the start of something bigger, you're all right. Extra points for you. The italicized words are Clary's dream, kay'? Enjoy.

**Clary POV **

_We were a million miles away from our home in Arizona. _

_I told my mommy this, and she told me that it wasn't really our home anymore. The apartment with the creaky stairs that was next to the park was now our home. Mommy said that it would be fun if we moved to New York for a while, but I don't think that it seems like such a good idea anymore. _

_I already miss Maia and Jonathan, but mommy said that I would make new friends real quick here at . I'm not sure that I will. _

_All of the other children are just so big and noisy; they don't even seem to notice that I'm here. _

_It was the first day of grade three, so when the bell rang for us to go line up in front of our teachers, I looked down to find that my nails were all ragged and bleeding from me biting them, because not only was it my first day of grade three, it was my first day at a new school. _

_Our teacher, Ms. Graham, lined us up in alphabetical order, and I was squished between a girl named Tina Elpowits, and a boy named Logan Freewilder. _

_Logan poked me in the back several times, so I turned around, wondering what he wanted. _

_He was a head taller than me, and his lips were twisted into a grimace, his eyes squinted against the sun. _

"_What do you want?" I demanded impatiently. He had been poking and flicking me ever since we got in line, and I was starting to get angry and annoyed. _

"_Why is your hair in two pony tails?" He asked, twisting one between his fingers. "It looks stupid." _

"_They're called pigtails." I said, snatching my hair back. "And __**they're **__not stupid, __**you **__are." I finished, poking him in the stomach. _

"_I am not stupid, you're just mad because I'm smarter than you." He said, a southern accent beginning to slip into his voice. _

"_Are not," I cried. _

"_Are too!" _

"_Are not!" _

"_Are too!" _

"_Stop it you two." Ms. Graham told us, her arms separating us from each other."If you can't learn to get along, then I'm going to have to separate you. Do you want to be separated?" _

_Logan stuck his tongue out at me from the other side of Ms. Graham. I stuck my tongue out back at him, narrowing my eyes and making an angry face. _

_Ms. Graham moved away from us, leading our class inside. _

'_You better watch it pigtails." Logan whispered in my ear. "I don't like being told what to do." And with that, he fell back a bit, putting some space between the two of us. _

_I sighed. It was only the first day of school, and I was already getting bullied. _

_Oh well, I thought, I can take jerk faces like Logan any day._

_I smiled at the thought. _

0 0 0

_The rest of the day passed by uneventfully, as mommy would say. She said that I was getting better at using bigger words in sentences._

_The only thing we did was listen to the teacher explain the classroom rules, and what we would be doing this year. _

_She told us that after recess, we would be assigned table groups, something that I was looking forward to. I would be able to make friends more easily if I was sitting down with them. It would give me a chance to talk to them. _

_When the bell finally rang for us to come inside, I found myself bouncing on the balls of my feet a bit. When was the teacher going to assign us our tables? _

_The answer to that question came quickly, and the teacher announced that she would be giving us our table groups right now. _

_I looked around the classroom, trying to find people who would look like good friends. Jonathan and Maia were my best friends back home, and from the first time I saw them, I had known that they were going to be nice. I was right._

_As the teacher slowly called names off a sheet of paper and kids scrambled to find their chairs and stuff, I twisted my hair with my finger. Mommy said that it was a nervous habit, and that I really should stop doing it because it would ruin my hair. I refused, saying that I could do what I wanted, and it's not like I cared anyway. _

_It was a while before the teacher called my name, and when she did, I squealed with delight, startling the kids around me. I rushed over to the desk she pointed at, and waited to hear who else would be joining me at my table. _

_A girl named Kaelie was called, and I shifted from foot to foot, straining to see over heads to try and see her. _

_When she finally came into my sight, I smiled. Her straight blonde hair was pulled into two pigtails, just like mine. She was smiling brightly at me, and I smiled right back, wanting instantly to be her friend. _

"_Hi!" She said, her smile growing wider. _

"_Hi!" I said, my smile growing wider as well. "I like your hair." I said, pointing to one of her pigtails. _

"_Thanks," she laughed, "I like yours too." She looked like she was about to say something else, but Ms. Graham interrupted. _

"_Logan Freewilder." Ms. Graham announced, pointing to our table group. _

"_Oh no," I groaned. Why him? Did Ms. Graham not remember what she saw this morning? _

"_What's wrong with him?" Kaelie asked, looking confused. _

"_That Logan guy stands behind me in attendance. He's really rude and stupid and he made fun of my hair." I announced sadly, frowning a bit. _

"_That's alright!" Kaelie grinned. "I'll show him not to mess with us. No boy will ever push us pigtailers around!" I smiled, liking that idea quite a bit. _

_I turned back around to Ms. Graham, waiting to hear who the last member of our table group would be._

"_And last but not least, Jonathan Herondale" Ms. Graham completed, gesturing to a boy with golden hair and amber eyes. _

_He walked towards us with a sad expression, plopping down across from us in a huffy manner. _

"_Somebody's a bit grumpy," Kaelie whispered to me. I giggled, agreeing with her. _

_I was just about to greet the boy named Jonathan when Logan came, taking the seat beside him . _

"_Well, well, well." He said, grinning mischievously. "What have we here? Pigtails actually made a friend? And look, I see that the two of you are twins! I guess I'll just have to call you Pigtails the Second." He snickered, pointing at Kaelie. _

_That made me angry, nobody was allowed to be mean to my friend! _

"_Oh, just be __**quiet **__Logan. Nobody wants to hear it. Besides, Pigtails the Second is very unoriginal, couldn't you have come up with something a bit more unique?" I asked him, earning a giggle from Kaelie and a smile from Jonathan. _

_Logan said nothing, just slumped lower into his chair. I took this as a sign of defeat, so I smiled, settling back into my chair. _

"_Wow, you really showed him new girl." Jonathan said, his gloomy mood seeming to disappear with each passing second. _

_He said that especially loud, making sure that Logan could hear. _

_Logan jerked in his chair and stood up suddenly, mumbling something about going to the bathroom. I started talking once he was gone._

"_Thanks, and my name's Clary." I said, blushing a tiny bit. _

"_That's a pretty name." Jonathan said, sounding sincere. "It's like the herb, Clary Sage." _

"_I know, it's what I was named after. My mom thought it was really pretty, so when she had me..." I said trailing off. _**(A/N: So what if she wasn't named after that. This is my story now, suckers!) **

"_I'm Jace, by the way." He said, holding out his hand. I shook it, but with some reluctance. _

"_I thought your name was Jonathan?" I asked, extremely confused. _

"_Oh, it is, but my step mom calls me Jace, and it's stuck with me ever since." He said, the sadness starting to creep back into his voice. "Besides, Jonathan sounds too formal. I feel gangster when I call myself Jace." A little giggle burst from my mouth, the sound loud in the large room. _

_Jace smiled back at me, but the sadness still lingered in his eyes. _

_I was about to say something to try and cheer him up, when I felt little nudges coming from my left. I turned to see Kaelie, poking me in the arm, an anxious expression on her face. _

"_What is it?" I whispered ,seeing the panic in her eyes. _

"_Aren't you going to introduce me?" She whispered back. _

"_Of course, but why do you look so scared and kind of nervous?" I asked, still whispering. _

"_Because he's cute, and I've had a crush on him since grade one. We've never been in the same class before, and he doesn't know me." She said, her voice dropping even lower. _

_I turned around to stare at Jace, who was staring at us with a confused expression, his nose crinkled with frustration. _

_Jace was kind of cute, I guess. I had never really noticed it before, but... _

"_Don't tell him!" Kaelie whisper-shouted, grabbing hold of my arm. _

"_I'm not going to." I reassured her, prying her fingers off of my arm. "I was just looking at him. Yeesh." _

"_Sorry," She said guiltily. _

"_It's fine." In a louder voice I said, "Jace, I'd like you to meet my friend Kaelie." I said, gesturing to her. _

_Kaelie blushed and smiled a bit, waving her fingers at him. _

_Jace smiled and waved back, making Kaelie giggle. _

_Somehow, I had the feeling that Jace made girls do that a lot. _

0

I woke up with a start, my face and body sticking to the shiny leather of the couch.

Carefully and slowly, I pulled myself into a sitting position, resting my head on the back of the couch.

The air around me was a mixture of greys, blues, blacks, and whites. The colours all seemed to swirl together, forming a thick haze that was difficult to see through. In this lighting, everything seemed surreal, and my thoughts were sharp and cold, cutting me whenever I tried to make sense of them.

I relaxed for a bit, waiting until my thoughts were dull enough to think through.

My dreaming of Jace and I's past had brought back some unwanted feelings, but if I was being honest with myself, I knew that these feelings had started to stir the moment I had laid eyes on him again.

He obviously didn't feel the same way anymore, and I knew it.

I stood up in frustration, suddenly wanting nothing more than to get out of this room, which suddenly seemed small and claustrophobic. What I needed to do was go outside, a place where I knew my thoughts would be much clearer.

Stepping over the blanket that was pooled at my feet, I made my way through the dark house, being careful to not trip over anything on my way out.

When I was finally able to get outside, I stopped for a moment, letting the cool night breeze caress my face. It was only when I felt that I had been cleansed somewhat that I made my way down to the beach, almost slipping down the large winding steps.

The sky was a shade of deep blue, the stars sparkling in and out of existence, winking as if they were mocking me.

The sand felt cool on my bare feet, its gritty texture sticking to the soles of my feet as I made my way down to the water's edge, always cautious of the sharp shells that had collected in little pockets on the sand.

I picked one up; wiping away the sand that had lodged itself in the shell's many crevices. When that did no good, I dipped it in the water, the sand swirling away as it was washed, the shells exterior gleaming in the moonlight.

The water lapped against my feet nicely, the salty waves churning around my feet before it slid away, leaving the sand unmarked and wet. Perfect except for the occasional sea foam that was piled in little white clumps.

I sighed in appreciation, the overall calming effect of the beach relaxing me quite nicely. Who would have thought that loud and noisy Miami could have been so serene?

I stood like that for a while, watching as my feet sank lower and lower into the wet sand. I didn't have the energy to move, and I honestly could not bring myself to go and face reality.

Only when the sky finally started to lighten in the east, and I had just about sunk to the beginnings of my calf, did I even consider heading back.

It took a hell of a lot of convincing myself, but I was finally able to muster enough strength to move, my legs protesting and straining against how much energy was needed for a task so simple and small.

I had just turned around and was planning to head back up the stairs when I slammed into someone, the force of the impact enough to throw me onto my butt.

I squinted against the rising sun, throwing my hand up to see who the heck had knocked me to the ground at six o'clock in the damn morning.

As my eyes slowly adjusted to the slowly brightening light, I caught a glint of gold at the edge of my vision, and immediately felt a bit moronic for not realizing it sooner.

Of _course _it would be Jace who would be up this early, he had always been an early riser. But what shocked me the most about his appearance was his apparent lack of clothes, his top half naked and glistening with sweat as the sun collected behind him; tricking you into thinking he was glowing.

I sat there, kind of stunned into silence at his display of so much skin, until the sand that had snuck into my underwear started to itch, forcing me to move.

"Here, let me." Jace said, offering my hand once he saw my struggle to stand upright.

I took it gratefully, always happy to be touching some part of him, even if it was completely innocent.

"Thanks," I told him, brushing the sand of my legs and clothes, only aware of my appearance when he raked his eyes over me, taking in my short blue nightgown and sandy appearance in with appraising eyes.

I blushed a bit, attempting to pull my nightie down with no avail.

"So," he started, somewhat awkwardly, "what are you doing out here so early in the morning?"

"Oh, you know, couldn't sleep and stuff." I said, the words sounding stupid and illiterate even to my own ears. I rambled on, trying to fix my previous words. "I came out here to try and clear my thoughts." I said, not quite sure why I was explaining all of this to him.

"Did it work?" He asked, eyeing me carefully.

"What?"I said stupidly, scrunching my eyebrows in confusion.

"Did it work? Are your thoughts clearer?" He asked again, his tone of a parent's trying to explain something to a three year old, which I could have been in a sense, what with my random ramblings and a complete lack of mature words. I was almost surprised that he hadn't left me sitting there like a fool.

I was able to come up with an answer nonetheless. "Well, they were... for a while. Then you came and knocked me onto my butt, and now I'm all flustered and unhappy." I huffed, pointing an accusing finger in his direction.

"Yeesh, I didn't know I was such a bother, Freckles." He said, using his old nickname for me.

"Shut up, you know how much that nickname bothers me." I said, surprised he actually remembered that.

"Oh, well that's right." He said, leering at me. "I almost forgot about the one Logan gave you. I should have realized that you wanted to be called by the nickname your childhood sweetheart gave you, _Pigtails." _He said, twanging his words like a cowboy in an old country-western movie.

"Oh, god Jace, don't even say things like that! Logan has to be one of the vilest creatures that I have ever met! And if you don't know that, then I'm not sure where you were for the better part of my childhood." I told him, whacking him on the side of his head for emphasis.

Jace just laughed, not seeming at all worried about his knowledge that was clearly lacking in that department.

"What's so funny?" I demanded impatiently, for he had gone on like this for a while now.

"Oh, nothing, It's just that-" He broke into hearty chuckles again. "Your face is the same colour as the paint you spilled on your shirt in grade three." He managed, struggling to talk between his laughter.

"If I can remember clearly," I started, talking over his amusement, "the only reason I had any paint on me in the first place was because of **you.** Your one man stampede for the green paint left a path of destruction in you wake."

"Don't judge," He said teasingly, putting on his best I-mean-business voice, "in the third grade, the only thing that seems important is getting your favourite colour to paint with. Besides, if memory serves, I remember you looking quite adorable in that shirt Kaelie let you borrow."

"And you were quite something with green paint smudged against your cheeks, Mr. Boogie Monster." I said, using the name he had attempted to make people call him once he realized that his face was part green.

Jace laughed at the memory, and had opened his mouth to speak when his phone buzzed, the sound sharp and shrill.

He smiled apologetically at me, and then fished his phone out of his pocket, narrowing his eyes when he saw who it was from.

"Shit." He muttered, slamming the phone shut and shoving it roughly into his pocket. "I have to go, but I'll see you at dinner tonight, right Freckles?" He said, looking back at me.

"Sure, sure," I said, waving him off with a flick of my hand. "Go on, you don't want to be late for wherever it is that you're going." I said, smiling at him.

"Thanks Freckles!" Jace yelled, already running towards the stairs, the muscles in his back tensing and relaxing with each step that he took.

"No problem," I murmured, using a voice to quiet for him to hear.

As soon as he was out of sight, I collapsed onto the sand, listening to the rhythmic thud of my heart as it slowly returned to its standard pace.

"Ow." I grunted, not a second later, for I had just sat down on a pile of seashells that were sharpened intensely.

0 0 0

**A/N: And, scene. Sorry I took so long to update, but I was grounded from the computer. Oh, and there will be more of Clary and Jace's past revealed, so hang with me people. **

**Hey, can any of you recommend any really well written twilight fics out there? I swear, the only good written ones out there are rated M. I'm seriously sick of being told they have lemons or whatever. Don't you have a censored version? Sorry, I'm rambling. **

**Oh, and has anyone read To Kill a Mockingbird? It's like, my favourite book right now. I love with an intense passion. Yeah. **

**xoxoxo Be the Crayon **


	4. The Search For NonExistant Boots

**By the Shore **

Chapter Four: The Search for Non-Existent Boots

**A/N: I am so, so, so sorry. I feel absolutely horrible. Mind numbingly bad, for not updating sooner. So extremely guilty, that I think that you should just pelt me with rotten tomatoes for being such a horrible author. **

**I haven't updated in a while, and for that, I'm really sorry. It's just that I have a couple of big exams coming up, so most of my time has been devoted to studying for them. But, I absolutely loved writing Clary and Jace as little kids, even though it's hard to try and think of the words a kid would use, not someone who has had access to rooms filled with books with a much better vocabulary. **

**I promise to never go without writing for that long again, and if any of you still remember this story, than here is the next chapter in all of its late glory…**

**But I digress. **

Clary POV

"Is this town like, religious or something?" Izzy asked me as we continued down Main Street, occasionally peering through the shop windows when something of interest caught our eye.

The temptation to look into one of those shops grew and gained more power with each step I took, but Izzy had the mouth of a sailor, and the power and force of her voice while expressing those foul words made even the strongest whimper in fear, which in turn effectively quenched the monster inside me.

Of course, the reason for her insufferable mood seemed atrocious to _many_, by which I mean me, but of course my opinion did not matter in the slightest, for my voice was just a whisper amidst the shouting and chaos of my best friend's world.

My pessimistic attitude, however, only made Izzy try that much harder to get what she wanted, and she was now completely consumed by the task at hand, a task that was still deemed as impossible in my mind. But since Iz could never pass down any sort of challenge, and I was too much of a coward to say anything more, we kept walking.

At this point in time, I found that my subconscious was waiting for hell to freeze over and be invaded by subarctic penguins, because I knew that _that_ would only happen when Izzy was denied of something, and that day would be today.

How was I so sure? I was sure because I knew from past experience, that it was absolutely impossible to try and find _a really great pair of shoes _in Idris, simply because Idris was not a fashion conscious town. I mean, when you see store names such as, _The Knitters Attic, _or _Barnabee Watson's Vacuum Emporium _spread throughout town, hopes for cute shoes were immediately shot down.

"Clary," Izzy asked, interrupting my inner musings, "Did you hear what I said?"

"Erm, yes?" It came out as more of a question.

"Like hell you did." Izzy muttered, suddenly stopping and stepping in front of me, fingers grasping the tops of my arms so that there was no possible escape route. "Do you want to tell me what's on your mind Clary, or are you going to continue moping around, too caught up in the dark inner workings of your mind, brooding over someonethat seems to have caused you severe mental brain damage?"

"I am _not _brooding." I said defensively, a bit miffed that she could see through me so easily.

"I'm sure, Clary." She said, not looking like she was planning on giving up so easily. "I bet you're also **not** going around spouting out big words that nobody understands, because you certainlydon't do _that _when you're angry."

"Just leave me alone, Isabelle." I said, twisting and turning hard to get out of her iron strong grip.

Of course this only made her hold on even tighter, and when the light of understanding dawned in her eyes, I knew that I didn't stand a chance of manoeuvring my way out of this conversation.

"This is about Jace, isn't it Clary?" She asked, realization making her giddy.

"No, of course not, what a stupid thing to say," I told her, feebly trying to escape again.

"It is!" She squealed, smiling so bright she put the sun to shame. "I just knew it!"

Sighing, I managed to lead her over towards a bench, where I plopped down unceremoniously, her following not far behind.

"Won't you tell me Clary?" She asked, her eyes pleading. "All I want to do is help."

"It's complicated Iz." I told her, trying to make her understand.

"You've already told me that." She reminded me. "Besides, I may not be the most heartfelt person in the world, but I certainly know how to listen."

"It's not even that interesting, it's just stupid. Nothing worth listening to."

"Come on Clary, I know you well enough to tell when you're lying. And right now, you can't seem to look me in the eye, and you keep scrunching your nose up like you're a rabbit." She told me, repeating all the signs that let people know when I wasn't being truthful.

But of course, I was not listening to her anymore, completely lost in "_the dark inner workings of my mind." _

The mention of rabbits certainly didn't bring up the best of memories.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0

_I was really mad. Really, really, really mad. Especially at my mom... And Jace and Kaelie, because they were my best friends... and everybody else that seemed to forget the fact that today was my _birthday!

_It was early August, and I was thrilled that I would be heading off to grade five as a ten-year old and not a nine-year old like Kaelie. _

_Being ten was a really important turning point in my life. It was when I finally turned double digits, and it was when Jace had promised to tell me the secret that he had been keeping since the day he had met me. Or so he had said. _

_Today, I had woken up expecting there to be a welcoming committee at the foot of my bed, yelling Happy Birthday the moment that my lids had decided to open. _

_Instead, I was greeted with silence, and a small white note taped to my bed side table, explaining that my mom would be out all day shopping for plants for the garden. _

_This, of course, broke my heart, because my mom didn't even have the decency to remember the day that she gave birth to me! Instead, she went out shopping for plants, leaving me alone in the house on the day when I was supposed to be celebrating. _

_To make matters worse, when I got downstairs, planning on phoning Kaelie and Jace, I saw that our phone had been disassembled, and sitting in our living room chair was Mrs. Herondale, looking bored. _

_I had asked her what she was doing in my house, and where Jace was, to which she had calmly replied- _

"_Your mom asked me to babysit for the day, and Jace asked Kaelie to go to the zoo with him, where they are currently being chaperoned by Kaelie's mom." _

"_But what about me," I asked, tears threatening to over flow. "Why didn't Jace invite me? Don't you know that today is my birthday?" _

_Mrs. Herondale looked surprised by this, and instead told me that she didn't know that it was, but we could play cards instead, which is what we did for the rest of the afternoon. _

_When three o'clock rolled around, she told me that she had to get some papers from her house, and since I wasn't allowed out of her sight, I had to come with her, and sit in the backseat of her stuffy hot van. _

_I was lucky that Jace only lived about ten minutes away, so my suffering was kept to a minimum. _

_As we pulled up to the house, I saw a flutter of movement near the window, but figured it must just be my imagination, because the house was dark, and nobody seemed to be home. _

_As I stepped out of the car, a strange wave of anger swept through me, as I realized yet again that I should have been celebrating right now. _

_But since I didn't want to be a bother, I kept my mouth shut as I walked up the driveway, Mrs. Herondale by my side, and silently contemplated how I would punish my mother while Mrs. Herondale unlocked the door to the dark and empty house. _

_Ushering me inside first, I stood confused for about two seconds before the lights were flicked on, the lights blindingly bright, and a flood of friends and family shouted- _

"_Surprise!" _

_I was then surrounded by the many faces of my loved ones, shock dominating my features as I was passed around by one laughing face from another. _

_When I reached my mother, I looked at her accusingly. "I thought you had forgotten about me!" I told her, looking into her laughing eyes. _

"_Sorry hun, but I had to, or else I wouldn't have been able to see that look on your face when we turned the lights on!" She laughed again as I was passed off to Kaelie and Jace. _

"_Clary," they both shouted excitedly, hugging me in turn, Jace holding on a little bit longer than normal. "You should have seen your face! You looked so surprised." The both giggled, giddy with the excitement of pulling it off. _

"_Well of course I was surprised. Your mom told me that you were both at the zoo and didn't invite me." _

"_Oh Clary, you know we would never exclude you. Besides, it's going to be a zoo _constantly_ with the present that we got you." Jace told me mysteriously, keeping his face carefully blank. _

"_What do you mean by that?" I asked them cautiously, eyeing their faces for any hint of what they were about to give me. _

"_We'll show you." Kaelie said, leading me over towards the table with the brightly wrapped presents, picking up the lime green one with large holes poke through it. _

_I stared at it for a while before taking it, hearing something shuffle around inside it. _

"_Well go on, open it." Jace urged me impatiently. _

"_Alright, alright." I told him reassuringly, removing the top of the box to reveal… wood chips. _

"_Ummm, wow, thanks… I guess." I told them, not quite sure how they wanted me to react. It's not like I was going to go completely ballistic over a couple of wood chips. _

"_That's it?" Jace asked, looking disappointed. "You're not more excited?" _

"_Well, I mean, I don't know why you got me wood chips exactly. Is there some sort of hidden meaning that I missing? I mean, wood isn't all that exciting-"_

"_What do you mean, wood chips?" Jace cut me off, snatching the box from my hands. When he looked inside and found the wood chips, he sucked in a surprised breath and looked over at Kaelie worriedly, panic dominating his features. _

"_It's gone." He breathed, throwing the present to the ground before he got down on his hands and knees, searching frantically for god-knows-what. _

"_It's what?" Kaelie shrieked, also dropping to her hands and knees and looking around. _

"_What's gone?" I asked, annoyed by their secretive talk. _

"_Your rabbit!" Kaelie cried, still frantically searching. _

"_My rabbit?"I asked, even more confused than before. _

"_Yes, your rabbit Clary. It's what we got you for your birthday." Jace answered in a frustrated voice. _

"_You got me a rabbit, really!" I cried, excited at the prospect of having an actual pet. The only pets I had ever had were some goldfish, but they had died within the first day because my mom had dropped them in their plastic bag where they slid across the floor, convulsing and shaking until, finally, they died. _

_This time though, I was determined to keep this rabbit alive for longer than the first day. _

_Although I would have liked to dream more about my rabbit, Niño, a Spanish word that I think meant child, Jace interrupted, looking exasperated. _

"_Yes, but it seems that you might never get to see it, seeing as though it escaped. If you looked at the situation more carefully, you might find that this is the reason we are on our hands and knees, searching for it." He said icily, continuing on his search. _

_It took a few moments for my brain to comprehend that my rabbit, Niño, was missing, and when it did, I dropped to my knees like Jace and Kaelie had done earlier, recklessly searching for something that I had yet to be introduced to. _

_I suggested we check the front yard and apparently this was a good idea because she and Jace both ran to the front door, opening it so hard that it slammed against the wall, and scampered out the door, me following closely behind. _

_I was so focused on catching up with them that I slammed into them when they stopped dead, frozen with identical looks of horror on their faces. _

"_What's wrong?" I asked, alarmed by the looks on their faces. _

_When they said nothing, I stepped around them, planning on seeing for myself whatever it was that had freaked them out so much. _

_When I did see, however, I turned green in the face and felt nauseated, my stomach churning unpleasantly. _

"_Is- is that it?" I asked, terrified of what the answer would be. Jace nodded once harshly and a tear slipped from Kaelie's eye as she collapsed on the step._

_I promptly turned around and threw up into the bushes, sick to my stomach at the sight I had just witnessed, for there- lying in the middle of the road- was a grey and white rabbit with matted and bloody fur- dead as ever. _

_There, on that fateful day in early August, my beloved rabbit that I had never even said hello to, much less goodbye to- had died. _

_000_

"Niño,' I groaned, sick at even the mention of the name.

"Niño? What the hell are you talking about Clary? Are you on something?" Izzy shook me, reminding me that I was not, in fact, ten-years old, but an eighteen year old whose birthday was getting closer with each passing day.

"My rabbit." I grimaced, attempting to explain through the pain in my stomach, willing my best friend to shut up and read my mind so she could understand.

That, of course, was pure insanity, for instead of nodding in understanding, Izzy hauled my limp body into an upright position forced my chin up, searching my eyes for some sort of enlightenment.

"Clary, listen to me. You don't have a rabbit." She told me, her eyes betraying her bewilderment at my apparent insanity.

"Yes, I do." I insisted childishly.

"No, you don't. I think I would know if my best friend had a rabbit."

"Well, I used to." I sighed; remembering how devastated Kaelie and Jace had been after finding out Niño was dead, though not nearly as destroyed as I had been over the little ball of fur that I had never had the pleasure of getting acquainted with.

"Fine, whatever Clary." Izzy said, scrutinizing me for a few more moments before turning on her stiletto heal and walking away, leaving me to beg and grovel for forgiveness at my perplexing behaviour.

"No Izzy, wait!" I bellowed, running to take hold of her before she disappeared around the nearest corner.

I latched onto her hand like a sloth, and willed my short legs to stop, grounding my heels into the ground in an attempt to make her stay.

"I'm really terribly sorry for my inexcusable behaviour these past days, and you're right about the whole Jace ordeal. I'm just too stubborn to admit it to myself, and your inquiry seemed to bring out the worst in me. You kind of hit a chord there with the whole rabbit thing, what with past experiences and such.

"I _will_ explain everything to you in time Iz; I just don't think that I'm quite ready for that yet. For both of our benefits, I think that it might be better if I waited to tell you until _after_ all my thoughts are sorted out, because right now, I'm sort of in the reminiscing stage of that whole process, and when that's all done, I'll have to figure out what to do with all of my newly found feelings for that situation.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, I might act a bit peculiar, and I bet my bank account that you're going to find yourself mystified and annoyed by my behaviour, but please just stick through it, okay? You're my best friend, and I would in no way be able to stand losing you over a guy."

I waited in painful silence for what seemed like eons, until finally Izzy turned to me, a wide smile gracing her face as she proceeded to hug the life out of my tiny body.

Finally, she stepped away and held me at arms distance, smiling as if she knew something that I didn't.

"Oh Clary, you funny little frog, I was never actually mad at you. Just confused because you kept talking about rabbits. Also, I just wanted to see you get all worked up in a huff as you attempted to apologize for something that you never actually did wrong. Besides, I suspected ever since that first day that you and Jace have had some sort of past. I mean, judging by the bits of your past that you _have_ told me about Jace, the undertone in your voice and the sparkle in your eye when you described him made me think that you were his lover, instead of his long-term best friend forever, along with Kaelie.

"And anyways, I suspect that I'm not going to have to wait all that long for you to spill all of the juicy little details of your past, because the longer you keep these things bottled up, the harder they explode. And my friend, you have kept this bottled up for way too long."

I stared at her for a few more moments before pulling her into another fierce hug, happy beyond belief that my friend was not a pushy loser, and was understanding enough to realize that I need some space.

"Oh, and Clary?" She asked, pulling away.

"Yes?"

"If you keep mumbling like you do when you're musing, I might figure the mystery that is you before you do." She said winking at me.

"What do you mean?" I asked dumbly.

"I heard bits and pieces of your stories since you talked aloud at some parts, although what I heard made absolutely no sense. You murmured about forgotten birthdays and bright green wrapping paper and wood chips and road kill. I figure that Jace got you a pet rabbit and it got run over?" She asked, amazing me with her intuition.

"You never fail to impress me, Mrs. Lightwood." I answered in an awed voice. "But you could have said that before I went into begging for forgiveness mode."

"Like I said, I wanted to see you beg, and I never put the pieces together until now. Maybe I shouldn't act without thinking." She said, scrunching her nose in thoughtfulness. "Oh, and I was so totally right about you using big words when you're depressed. You should have heard your apology to me back there."

"Anyways," she said, glancing at her watch before dragging me back the way we came, "We have to get moving. I told the boys we would meet at the Shipwreck soon, and we're cutting it dangerously close to the time limit. We'll have to forget about the boots."

I smiled as I realized what this meant. "Bring on the penguins." I said, thinking about my earlier contemplation.

"What?" Izzy asked, looking confused again. "Are you reminiscing again?"

"No, just thinking about something I was speculating over earlier."

"Which is…?" She asked, eyes begging to elaborate.

"Just that hell would freeze over and be invaded by penguins when you were deprived of something. And you were certainly deprived of those boots." I smiled smugly.

"Whatever you frog, I bet if we kept looking I would find _something," _she seethed.

"Sure, sure, whatever floats your boat. And what's with the nickname?"

"You bounced around a lot when you were reminiscing, you kind of reminded me of a frog." She giggled.

"Well, if I'm a frog, then you're an elephant, because you certainly stomp around a lot when you're pretend angry. In fact, I think I'll call you Elephanté."

"You wouldn't dare…" She warned.

I giggled and flounced away to the car, my mood considerably lighter than before, now that I knew I could always depend and rely on Izzy when things started to go downhill.

Izzy, my trusty and ever-caring elephant.

Many people had dependant and solid-rock-like-people to depend on, but I liked my elephant much, much better.

**A/N: And Scene. Alright, that chapter was a bit heavier than the last ones, plus there was no Jace, but I promise that there will be light heartedness and plenty of Jace next chapter. Scout's honour. Also, you people better remind me to hold my promise of updating sooner. If you feel I'm being a lazy ass slug, don't be afraid to tell me. **

**Praise and criticism is always welcome, so don't ever hold back. Love you lots! **

**xoxoxo Be the Crayon**


	5. Silver Rings And Forgotten Friends

**Chapter 5**

I was twirling a silver chain between my fingers which then connected with a cold metal band. It was silver too, and scratched onto the inside of the ring were the words _Together, Always_. It was the chain Jace had given me when he'd left for California just before 8th grade. He said that this would hold us together over the miles of distance that had then separated us. It was a beautiful sentiment really, if it weren't for the fact after a few months he had forgotten about me. It was great to begin with; he called me nearly every evening and told me about how great his life was in California, but how much he missed me more and wish I was with him. However, as much as I missed him, that would have been enough if that was my only option, if it was that or not at all, but it became that I didn't have a choice. I became none at all. He began calling less, said he had homework, too much stress from school, and then he stopped all together. I tried to call him, but a woman picked up, one I didn't know, she said that Jonathon had moved away and that she didn't have any contact information on where he went. He had left me without a word. I guess he didn't have any problem keeping in contact with Kaelie though.

_I sat at my assigned desk furiously colouring the lined Paddington Bear drawing that my teacher had handed me. I had come inside after I had had an argument with Kaelie. She had insisted that I couldn't wear my new top to the beach this weekend. She said it made me look too pretty and that if I wore it, Jace wouldn't notice her blue top. She said it was her last chance to impress him before she left for boarding school and Jace for his new life in California, as she still had a massive crush on him. I got mad because I really wanted to wear it, and who was she to demand that I couldn't wear it, plus, I kind of wanted to impress Jace as well. I wanted him to see me as pretty, as someone he wanted to be with, not just his short freckly friend._

"_Hey! Hey! Hey! Take it easy! What did that poor crayon do to you?" Jace ran in with his hands up a fearful expression on his face. "What's wrong with you fire ball?" I continued to scrape my crayon against the paper angrily refusing to look at him._

"_Everybody's leaving, you're both going away and I'm going to be left all by myself!" I rapidly rubbed my eyes to stop the fierce prickly tears from spilling over my lids._

"_Clary, you know we'll always be together right. I'll call you all the time, and you can come visit me in the summer, mum said she'd set a guest room up for you to come stay in." He smiled and forced my chin up to face him._

"_It won't be the same." I insisted stubbornly, "we won't be able to do things! I'm going to lose my best friend!" His arm went around my waist and he held his hand out to me. I reached out and opened his hand. Inside of it was a ring. Silver, beautiful. He dropped the rind into my palm. There was an inscription on the inside of in that read, __Together, Always. __I could feel fresh tears prick at my eyes because his gift._

"_We'll always be together Clary, you should know that." He reached out and grasped my hand. "Always." He breathed shuffling closer to me, dragging her body onto his lap, hugging her tightly. "I'm going to miss you so much." He breathed into my hair._

"_J-Jac-" He moved his finger to her lips._

"_Shhh…" He pecked my lips gently, not releasing me from his iron grip. "So much. Take the ring. Take it as a promise that I'll be with you soon, and we'll really be together then." He pushed my hair away and pecked my lips once more before standing up. I looked back at my picture to see how stupid I'd been. I guess I didn't have to impress him after all. I turned to watch Jace leave and saw Kaelie had come back into the room. She was stood in the doorway and her face was bright red._

"_How could you!"_

"Hey Clary, Claaaary? Claaaaaaaaaaariieeeeeee? Are you in there?_" _Izzy's shrill yell woke me from my flashback.

"What Isabelle!" I heard he thin stilettos stomping up the stairs.

"Are you ready to leave?" I stood and straightened out my dress. "Yeah Izzy, I'm ready."

_**:) My first chapter! :) I hope it lived up to your expectations, sorry my chapters aren't as long as Be The Crayon's, but I don't have masses of time on my hands. I don't know for sure when the next chapter will be, because I have exams and things for the next couple of months so it might be a bit scatty, but I'll try to get them out weekly. R&R.**_

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	6. Dinner Guest

**Chapter 6**

"Clarissa Morgenstern! Get your ass down here pronto!" Izzy groaned and turned towards the four men who stood at the door. "Sorry, she doesn't really do dresses, or anything girly for that matter, so anything shorter than her ankle freaks her out." She frowned and turned back to the stairs. "Clary!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming! Bloody hell, Izzy!" I came around the corner and nervously pulled at the bottom of my dress, desperately trying to make it longer. I looked at Izzy in her little black number who was smiling encouragingly at me.

"Get down here, Clary, I'm starved." I descended the stairs, and as I did so, the four boys standing on the porch came into view.

As I came down the stairs, I saw Jace's face transform from boredom to shock. I guessed he hadn't seen me since I was twelve after all, and I had filled out a little since then, I wasn't curvy or attractive in that way, but more so than a twelve year old. And before, when I had talked to him on the beach, I was wearing baggy clothes, ones that hid my shape and any qualities my body did have. I was sort of hoping that maybe there was a part of him that did find me attractive, but I pushed the thought aside as soon as it came.

"Polite, Izzy, you could have at least invited them inside." I scolded her, rolling my eyes. Turning back to the guys I noticed the fourth and raised both eyebrows in question. I've never been able to raise just one.

"Clary, this is Magnus, my… friend." Alec informed me seeing where my eyes had landed. There was a very nervous tone to his voice and it was clear he was trying to hide the fact that they were in a relationship, but he wasn't doing it well.

I smiled knowingly, but comfortingly, "It's nice to meet you, Magnus."

Izzy had already gripped onto Simon's arm and was eagerly trying to capture his attention. I grinned.

"Let's go before Izzy actually attacks Simon." I joked skipping the rest of the way to the door.

"Hey!" I giggled as I joined them in the doorway. There was a shiny black car running in our driveway and we filed out towards it.

Izzy and Magnus bickered the entire car journey about fashion, and accessories and that there is such thing as too much glitter in an outfit, but it was fun; fun to be around people, even if they couldn't stop arguing. We arrived at the restaurant after about ten minutes of driving and the bickering finally stopped in time to see an additional guest waiting in the archway of the restaurant, an unwanted guest, for me at least.

A unwanted guest whose appearance brought back not so pleasant memories.

_**Flashback **_

_Jace was leaving that morning for California, and I hadn't wanted to let go of him. He came around early to say goodbye and I had pulled him to my room. We hadn't really talked about what had happened a few days before, and I didn't want to leave things the way they were._

"_Jace, we- we need to talk about st- stuff." I stuttered. Close confrontations always freaked me out, my mouth dried up, and the back of my throat closed up making speech difficult._

"_I'm leaving today, Clary, in like just an hour, can't we just be happy? I just want to be with you for a little while, don't make this more complicated than it needs to be." _

_I felt my heart sink to a depth about the level of my stomach. He wanted to bury it all in the sand and move away without any attachments. He didn't want to have me tying him down when he met someone new._

"_Yeah, I-I guess so."_

"_Clary," Jace reached out and ran his thumbs over my cheeks. "I don't want to make this any more complicated than I must, I love you Clary, I just want to be with you." He pulled me close into his embrace. "Together. Always." He whispered. I felt my eyes sting as tears neared the surface, I gripped his neck firmly and let him gently rock me to calm my frantic behaviour. "California isn't that far away, you know that, I'll see you soon, really soon."_

"_Jace!" A shrill voice called out. "Jacey? Your mum said you were here." _

_My bedroom door flew open to reveal a flustered looking Kaelie in the doorway. Her hair was down and dead straight. It frustrated me that she could wake up with it looking so perfect, compared to my mess. She was wearing a red dress adorned with tiny little flowers, twisting into patterns and a large green bow on the back. I looked down at my plain top and jeans and felt disheartened._

"_You're all dressed up Kaelie? What's the special occasion?" Jace asked raising his eyebrow. God I hated that he could do that and I couldn't. I raised my hand from where it was encased to his chest, to his eyebrow._

"_I hate that you can do that." I said moodily, expressing my thoughts._

"_Spoken like a true inner child." He stuck his tongue out and turned to Kaelie. "Well you look very pretty Kaelie, you here to say goodbye?" She nodded and came to sit beside us on the bed._

"_Of course, Jacey, why else would I be here? And it is a special occasion, you're leaving us, I might never see you again!" She cried, throwing her arms around Jace._

"_C'mon Kaelie, you're worse than Clary is, you'll see me again, and soon to." She buried her head in his shoulder and started to sob hysterically._

_"Okay Kaelie," Jace said patting her shoulder. "I'm just going to go to get a drink; I'll be back in a moment." He shifted me out of his arms and left the room._

_Kaelie turned to face me._

"_What are you doing?" She said putting her hands on her hips._

"_Err… What are you talking about, Kaelie? I'm not doing anything."_

"_Yes you are! You were the new girl! I told you I liked him! I told you that and you were supposed to be my friend! And now you're trying to lure him in so he won't even notice me! He doesn't love you, you know that right? It's just lust!"_

"_That was years ago Kaelie, and he's leaving now so it's not as if it even matters." Tears were rolling heavily and thick down my cheeks now._

_Kaelie narrowed her eyes. _"_I hate you Clarissa! I could have been popular! But no, I was loyal to you and you betrayed me! You- you bitch!" Tears rolling down her face, she ran out the door. I stared after her, hurt and confused._

_**End of flashback.**_

Kaelie ran to Jace and threw her arms around him.

"Jacey! I've missed you so much!" She drew back. "I hate that stupid boarding school."

The rest of us got out of the car.

Kaelie spotted me and glared, clear blue eyes becoming suspicious.

"Okay, what the hell is she doing here?"

I fixed my gaze on her, refusing to be intimidated by her evil look. "Good to see you too, Kaelie."

_**Okay so another chapter for you my lovely readers, please R & R, and I'd like to say a million thank you's to my Beta Mosaicmaker… And no, it is not normal to use earphones as a hairband…**_

_**Until next time,**_

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	7. Phone Calls That Never Came

_**Okay so before the chapter, I'd like to address a pretty serious issue and I'd appreciate it if you read this. I read FanFiction myself and I am well aware of the frustrations of waiting a long time for a chapter and I apologise for my lengthy absence, however, under no circumstances is it okay for anyone to send rude messages/ reviews demanding updates. This is my life, and sometimes I can't necessarily keep to a schedule, and for someone to insult me just for a chapter is so far beyond appropriate. To those individuals who have stuck with me and accepted the wait for this chapter, thank you, and for those few individuals who have contacted me about the lengthy wait for this chapter in a rude way, you have no idea what happens in my life, you don't know me, you cannot just assume the only reason I don't update is because I'm too lazy or can't be bothered.**_

The atmosphere in the restaurant was strange. Only sparse small talk was made instead of the usual easy flowing conversation, and it was clear to everyone who had put a spanner in the works.

"_Kaelie please come out!" I banged my hand on the bathroom door again and let out a frustrated sigh. "Nothing is going on between us, we were just saying goodbye. Now you're leaving soon and I don't want that to happen until I've made up with you! You're my best friend!" Kaelie got up from where she was sat on the toilet seat and stomped her feet towards the door, yanking it open._

"_No! Don't lie to me! You made your choice. You knew how much I liked him and yet you still went after him. You're a little slut Clary and I hope I never see you again!" I gasped at the language Kaelie was using which meant that maybe she did truly hate me. (At that age the word slut is like a swear word)_

"_Kaelie please don't do this." My eyes stung and I reached out to her arm, but she slapped my hand away._

"_Goodbye Clarissa."_

I hadn't seen her since, hadn't talked to her either. She never called me, I called her but I never got through. She blocked me on Msn, sent my letters back in shreds. After a month had passed I realised that maybe it was the end for Kaelie and I.

"So Clary, what's new with you? You got a boyfriend?" Kaelie inquired in a sickly sweet voice that I just knew was fake, running her nails up and down Jace's arm possessively. I raised my eyebrows (I still hadn't mastered just raising one) at her in disgust. Jace was a human being, not one of her possessions.

"Nothing and no." I wanted to keep my answers short to avoid having to talk to her where I could and this was a relatively closed question. I knew though that she was going to ask more.

"Really? I would have thought a girl like you would have to fight the guys off." To everyone else it looked like she was just being friendly; indirectly calling me pretty, but I knew that she was referring to the comment she made the day I left. Giving it out to anyone who asked would definitely have me fighting away boys, not sure it would help me with the boyfriend thing though.

"Luckily I have Jacey here. We're just perfect for each other aren't we Jacey. One day we'll settle down, and get married and have kids." Jace chocked on the hamburger he was eating and Alec slapped him several times on the back. "Are you okay hunnie?" She lifted up his chin with her and learned in. I looked away politely while she gave him a not-so-publicly-suitable kiss and tried to not watch where her hand was running.

"Oh yes _Jacey_, are you okay? We can't have you dying now not with all your plans for the future." I snickered and Jace gave me an exasperated look. "And Kaelie has been waiting for you for sooo long. How many years has it been Kae?" I plastered a big grin on my face as Kaelie's cheeks turned beetroot, or as red as they could go with that much foundation on.

"You know what," Izzy chipped in to try and break the tension. "I think we should go to a nightclub when we're done here. We could go to Pandemonium. It's just around the corner."

**-LINE-**

Izzy's idea, it transpired was the best one anyone could come up with. I wasn't so keen on it though. Jace and Kaelie had disappeared to the dance floor, although I'm not sure what they were doing could be called dancing, Alec and Magnus had disappeared to an armchair on the other end of the room and Alec was sat in Magnus's lap whilst Magnus stroked his hair tenderly and I didn't want to think where Simon and Izzy had got to, though she'd probably tell me all about it later.

And then there was me.

Sat alone at the bar, drinking lemonade.

I'd managed to get in the club, but I didn't want anyone investigating whether or not I was of age to drink. Apparently a few months south of eighteen isn't quite close enough.

"Hmm, lemonade. Living on the edge." A smirking Jace sat in the seat next to me and indicated the bartender. "Fosters please." Jace requested of him showing his ID. I waited until the bartender had gone before I replied.

"Yeah well unlike you I don't have one of those things to flash around remember!" I nudged him jokingly and retuned to my lemonade.

"I know." He said genuinely this time, all traces of a smile vanished from his face. "I remember your birthday." I turned to look at him, surprised by his tone and met with his eyes. They were different this time though. They weren't cold and controlled. They were the same eyes from when we were children. It could be as if no time had passed, his eyes were so full of emotion.

"Good." I whispered timidly.

"Jacey! Why you did stop dancing with meee!" Kaelie slurred stumbling into his lap. "Youz amazin' you know tha' rights." She brought her heavily manicured hand up to his head and started stroking his hair.

"Okay Kaelie. I think you've had a few too many. I think I should get you back now." He nudged her off his lap and stood up.

"Yeah we shoulds definitely go homes Jacey." She giggled and stumbled again. She would have fallen flat on her face if Jace hadn't reached out to hold her up. He slung her arm over his shoulder and put his arm around her waist. He tried to walk with her but was struggling.

"Here." I stood up and tucked myself under her other arm. "Let me help you."

**-LINE-**

After several angry taxi drivers and a very ill Kaelie we eventually made it home. We got her into Jace's room and laid her out on his bed. I covered her with his duvet and turned out the light before we both left her to sleep off her drunkenness.

"Looks like it's the couch for me then." Jace chuckled. We hadn't talked a lot on the way home. It was difficult with Kaelie there, even if she wasn't in her right mind.

"Don't be silly Jace. We have a spare room, Izzy and I. You can stay in there." He looked grateful.

"Good because I really wasn't looking forward to that couch. It's basically springs covered in material." I smiled and took his hand. It was a natural gesture; something that came without me thinking. Just like when we were children. As soon as I realised what I'd done though I dropped it like it had burned me and blushed profusely.

"Sorry I-" I just hurried out of the room towards the door. I could hear Jace following me and I departed heading for the house in which Izzy and I were staying. I fumbled for the keys my hands shaking slightly. Jace reached out and placed his hands over mine just as I turned the lock.

"Clary, calm down, it's okay." He stepped even closer and took my hand almost as if to prove his point. I felt giddy just with the presence of him. I reached behind me to the door handle finding it just as his lips touched mine.

"_Mum!" I called out, throwing my school bag onto the table in the hall._

"_In here sweetheart." I rounded the corner into the kitchen to see my mother preparing dinner. "How as school? Did you make any friends today?" It had been two months since Kaelie and Jace had left, and mum was worried that I might not be socialising properly._

"_Yes actually. Her name is Isabelle and she's new." Jocelyn turned around to face me with a grin on her face._

"_That's good honey. You can invite her over for dinner sometime if you want."_

"_Yeah I will. Hey has Jace called? He said he'd call yesterday but I didn't get anything." My mother sighed and shook her head. "That's alright; I'll go and call him." I ran off to the phone and entered his number. I was excited to tell him all about my new friend._

"_Hello?" A woman's voice answered. A voice that didn't belong to Mrs Herondale._

"_Sorry," I said. "I'm looking for Jace. Is he there?"_

"_The Herondale boy right? No he moved away last week." I didn't understand. I talked to Jace just a few days ago and he didn't tell me anything._

"_Do you know how I might be able to get in contact with him?"_

"_No, sorry they didn't leave a forwarding number." My heart sank. What was I going to do? I had to stay in contact with him, he promised._

"_Alright. Thanks anyway." I hung up with a heavy heart. He would call me soon right? Straighten this all out? Give me his new number._

I wrenched the door open pulling out of Jace's embrace and stumbling backwards, my eyes stinging from the onslaught of memories his lips brought me. His face looked shocked. Shocked that he'd lost control of his actions, shocked that he craved me so much, startled that I had pulled away with such a conflicted look on my face.

"First door on the left." I forced out before running up to my room and firmly locking the door. I leaned against it and slid to the ground. Why was this happening to me? Again?

_**I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be, I'll try to crack one out next weekend but I have other fics that haven't been updated in a really long time either and I have an exam next week. A-Level Biology… Fuuun… I'd also like to add this is like my longest chapter ever in the history of FanFiction. Reviews are like caffeine, they keep me going.**_

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